Just got off the subway and checked options data, and it reminded me of time value. When I first started playing options, I always felt like the buyer had infinite possibilities—every time I bought a call, it felt like buying a lottery ticket. In the end, time value ate me up clean, leaving nothing at all. Later I tried the seller side, and that’s when I realized that collecting time value is also a business, but you have to be able to stand up to volatility. Put plainly, it’s making money by putting your life on the line. Anyway, I’ve gotten timid now—I’m only testing the waters with a small position, and all I dare to do is sell far-dated puts. I basically don’t touch near-dated options on the buy side; they’re just too easy to get harvested by theta.

Recently, funding rates have been extremely extreme, and everyone in the community is arguing whether it’s going to reverse or whether they’ll keep squeezing the bubble. I took a look: the sentiment in the derivatives market really is a bit twisted. When liquidity tightens, options implied volatility also jumps. I didn’t dare to make any moves myself—I’ll let the dust settle for a bit. I’ve been rugged twice already, so any little sign of wind and grass makes me shrink back. As for this thing called time value, put plainly, it’s just an annoying little goblin—whoever chases after it ends up losing.